Author: Ridgeway Records

Two Roads

Two Roads

“Two Roads” represents a bold new musical direction for Dann Zinn, embodying his dedication to continued artistic exploration. Over the past two decades, Zinn has crafted a unique body of original work, influenced by Jan Garbarek’s Nordic folk-inflected compositions and his own roots in American Jazz and East Bay Funk. The album features esteemed collaborators <b>Rachel Z</b>, known for her work with Steps Ahead, and <b>Omar Hakim</b>, famed for his performances with Sting and Branford Marsalis.

The album’s opening track, “Yarak,” showcases Hakim’s dynamic drumming and Zinn’s soaring saxophone solo. “The Sound of Ice Melting” highlights Zinn’s love for folk melodies, while “Pros and Cons” echoes the influence of Lenny Pickett. The title track, inspired by Robert Frost’s poem, features Denson’s wordless vocals and a rich, rhythmic backdrop. With compositions ranging from the cinematic “A Revolution of One” to the evocative “Prayer Again,” Zinn’s “Two Roads” is a profound musical journey.

 

Learn more about Dann Zinn at dannzinn.com

Available October 4, 2024

Seven Shades of Violet (Rebiralost)

Seven Shades of Violet (Rebiralost)

On September 8th, 2023, Ridgeway Records releases Seven Shades of Violet (Rebiralost), the stunning debut jazz album from San Francisco based pianist, keyboardist, and composer, Michael Echaniz, in the wake of a successful fight against stage four lymphoma cancer. Well over an hour in length, this epic conceptual work features the core contributions of producer, bassist, and vocalist Jeff Denson, drummer and percussionist Dillon Vado, and primary vocalists Danielle Wertz and Molly Pease with an array of special guests, including features from saxophonist Dann Zinn, percussionist Silvestre Martinez, and the strings of Friction Quartet. Symmetrically constructed, the nine original compositions and two arrangements feature a wide variety of synesthetic moods and acoustic-electric textures, drawing inspiration from mathematics, history, Basque heritage, and existential crisis. Accessibly melodic, rhythmically complex, melancholic, introspective, cathartic, often maximalist, Seven Shades of Violet presents a bold contribution to the futurist, contemporary jazz scene.

Seven Shades of Violet (Rebiralost) is made possible through the Musical Grant Program, which is administered by InterMusic SF, and supported by the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, and the Hewlett Foundation; and was supported by New Music USA’s Creator Development Fund in 2022- 23.

Learn more about Michael Echaniz at michaelechaniz.com

Released September 8, 2023

Jeff Denson

Jeff Denson

Today, the art of jazz expression and the world of formal education are fully intertwined, both demanding powerful commitment. Pursuing both is immensely challenging. Bassist/composer Jeff Denson is meeting that challenge.

Fully immersed in both worlds since the late 1990s, the bassist/composer has balanced a full career as both an acclaimed performing musician and a highly respected educator. Currently leading or co-leading four distinct ensembles, Jeff has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe with both his own groups – including the renowned cooperative trio Minsarah – and as a sideman with some of jazz’s finest artists, such as Anthony Davis, Mark Dresser, Joe Lovano, Jane Ira Bloom, Kenny Werner, Dave Douglas and an ongoing relationship with the legendary Lee Konitz since 2007.

With a doctorate from the University of California San Diego, Jeff is a full professor at the California Jazz Conservatory, also serving as its Outreach Director, nurturing young musicians into the world of professional performance, while promoting partnerships and relationships among various elements of the Bay Area scene.

Dann Zinn

Dann Zinn

“DANN ZINN IS A GAME CHANGER, WHO IS TAKING JAZZ IN NEW DIRECTIONS.”

As a world-class saxophonist/flutist, Dann Zinn is renowned for being a passionate soloist and composer/arranger. Hailed over the years as “inventive,” “distinctive,” and for “creating a stunning and emotional listening experience,” Zinn has developed a unique style distinguishing him as a one of a kind artist with a tone unlike any other horn player on the jazz scene today. 

Zinn’s resume includes working with Omar Hakim, Rachel Z, Peter Erskine, Mike Stern, Leni Stern, Taylor Eigsti, Terri Lynn Carrington, Allison Miller, Derrick Hodge, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Cuong Vu, David Weiss, Dave Eshelman, Chuck Findly, Mary Wells, Martha and the Vandellas, and Barry Finnerty, among many others.  In addition to his six CDs, Ten Songs, Wish, Grace’s Song, Shangri La, Day Of Reckoning, and his newest, Two Roads, his impressive discography includes over 100 appearances as a featured soloist and sideman on albums with prominent musicians. Zinn’s performances have spanned top venues including being featured at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, New York City’s Smalls, and the world famous Yoshi’s, where he has played to sold-out crowds. He has garnered critical acclaim from prestigious publications such as DownBeat Magazine, Jazz Times, Jazziz, and local media such as the Oakland Magazine. Zinn’s other performance history includes television, radio, and multi media videos, and even children’s specials.

Learn more about Dann at dannzinn.com

Michael Echaniz

Michael Echaniz

Michael Echaniz is one of the brightest musicians, composers, and artists emerging from the West Coast. A pianist since five, Michael has studied music at Santa Clara University, California Jazz Conservatory (B.M.), and CalArts (MFA.) Michael is an avid performer, playing and recording alongside internationally-renowned artists such as Jeff Denson, Romain Pilon, Wu Man, Gerald Cleaver, and Friction Quartet in venues such as Black Cat, the Art Boutiki, and Yoshi’s, as well as Umbria and Montreux jazz festivals. Michael has won numerous awards, mostly recently, the 2021 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award and a New Music Workshop at the 2022 International Jazz Composers’ Symposium (ISJAC). Supported by InterMusic SF’s 2020 Music Grant Program and New Music USA’s Creator Development Fund in 2022-23, Michael will soon release Seven Shades of Violet (Rebiralost), an ambitious, virtuosic, symmetrical concept album of original compositions and arrangements on Ridgeway Records. Michael’s forward-thinking original music embraces rhythmic complexity, haunting melodicism, fluidity between improvisation and through-composition, influence from disparate styles of classical, world, and pop music, and deep emotional connection.

Finding Light

Finding Light

The first time that bassist Jeff Denson and guitarist Romain Pilon got together to record with drummer Brian Blade felt like a lightning strike. Like so many musicians before them, the longtime friends from their days as standout students at Berklee experienced what’s often been described as the Blade Factor, a sudden, clarifying jolt that illuminates the musical moment. Captured in the studio on the 2019 Ridgeway Records album Between Two Worlds, the trio’s debut introduced an uncommon communion that seemed destined for further adventures.

Even two years of pandemic angst hasn’t been able to dim their brilliant chemistry. If anything, the trio’s second album, Finding Light, blazes all the more brightly as an antidote to isolation, anxiety, and despair. Slated for release on Denson’s Ridgeway Records label, the project beams with the palpable pleasure the musicians take in each other’s company as they explore new music together in glorious trialogue.   

Denson spent the first 18 months of the pandemic keeping the California Jazz Conservatory running online as dean of instruction. Though two years had elapsed between the trio’s last tour and regrouping to record Finding Light, they picked up where they left off, exploring a “sound that evolved because we did a lot of playing and travelling together in 2019 and 2020,” Denson said. “Each time we played together the band kept growing and our sound and direction evolved. Our connection kept intensifying.” That intensity is evident throughout Finding Light. The trio’s new music reflects both the unbridled joy of gathering together again and the small pleasures (particularly the fur-bearing variety) that eased the surreal passage of pandemic time.

Coming September 23, 2022

SINGLES

“This Way Cooky” – Available 6/28/2022

“Daily Jubilee of Dancing Herbie D.” – Available 8/1/2022

<p>Solo Live</p>

Solo Live

Recorded at Oakland’s Piedmont Piano Company on his 50th birthday in 2019, Solo Live is Simon’s first unaccompanied recording (and only his second album documenting a concert). Unedited, it’s a ravishing portrait of one of jazz’s most eloquent improvisers investigating a setting that’s become one of his primary outlets during the pandemic. Long leery of performing alone, a situation that leaves a pianist “really exposed,” he described the Piedmont Piano date as “a leap of faith. But I plan to be doing more solo piano playing and recording.”

Learn more about Edward Simon at edwardsimon.com

25 Years

25 Years

Cover CD Edward Simon 25 Years FinalIn 2020, Edward Simon celebrates his illustrious three-decade career in music. During this timespan, the Venezuela-born pianist and composer has led and co-led award-winning ensembles and collaborated with some of today’s most prominent jazz artists, including vocalists Luciana Souza and Gretchen Parlato; Afinidad, the long-running virtuoso quartet featuring David Binney, Scott Colley, and Brian Blade; the acclaimed chamber ensemble Imani Winds; and the all-star SFJAZZ Collective.

Available October 9, 2020

Learn more about Edward Simon at edwardsimon.com

<p>Blissonance</p>

Blissonance

Never Weather is a jazz-inspired quintet that plays original music by drummer, vibraphonist, and composer Dillon Vado. The songs for this group explore many genres, grooves and textures to make exciting arrangements that allow for genuine improvisations each performance. Never Weather has 5 distinct personalities within the band and strives to make music that showcases each voice of the group.

Available January 17, 2020

Learn more about Dillon at dillonvado.com

<p>Between Two Worlds </p>

Between Two Worlds

When these virtuoso players meet on the bandstand, the result is sheer magic. Join revered French guitarist Romain Pilon, powerhouse drummer Brian Blade and internationally acclaimed bassist, vocalist, and composer Jeff Denson as they celebrate their Ridgeway Records album Between Two Worlds. The recording features originals by Denson and Pilon, who met two decades ago as students at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. After graduation they pursued their own careers, but reunited occasionally to reclaim their musical camaraderie. When Denson played with Blade on a 2017 tour with Joel Harrison’s Spirit House, they clicked. “We deeply connected right away, from the first notes in the sound check,” says Denson. “It felt like kindred spirits, rhythmically; a whole other language was taking place behind the soloists, and it was totally enthralling.” Denson thought of Pilon as an ideal third partner. “He’s a virtuoso player but very sensitive and very musical, the same words I would use to describe Brian.” Denson extended an invitation to Pilon and Blade, who enthusiastically accepted. The result is one of the most captivating new groups in jazz, a trio of players with unmistakable chops, unquestionable creativity, and probing sensitivity.

Coming October 25, 2019